Landlord-Tenant Law

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A recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals case complicates residential leases by applying the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA) to residential leases and uniquely calculating pecuniary loss under Wis. Stat. section 100.20(5) for a violation of Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 134.08(10).

The case is Koble Investments v. Marquardt.1 A petition to review the decision is currently pending before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Landlords and tenants alike should be aware of its holding, as it has the potential to significantly…
Continue Reading Koble Investments, the Wisconsin Consumer Act, and Residential Leases

I originally wrote this post in 2018. While I don’t love utilizing old blog posts, this is an important topic and the fact that more tenants don’t know their rights/get caught in these trap doors, is a personal pet peeve. With COVID dollars drying up and evictions back in person in Milwaukee County, I thought it was a good time to dust off this post and re-visit it.

In Wisconsin, there are plenty of “gotchas” or “trap doors” in…
Continue Reading Rent Never Abates to Zero and Other Tips for Tenants (again!)

A common call into our office is one from a residential landlord wondering what to do in the following scenario: a tenant moved out at the end of their lease, but they left a lot of property behind, and the landlord is wondering what their options are.

Security Deposit

The magic number to remember for security deposits is 21. A landlord must return any amount of the security deposit not withheld, plus an accounting for any withholdings from the…
Continue Reading Security Deposits and Abandoned Property: Post-Tenancy Considerations